First Names

Rookie Storytellers:
Al Kemp
V.P. Operations
British Columbia Buildings Corp.

I joined our company as its fifth employee in 1977.  We were replacing the Department of Public Works, a government bureau similar to those which traditionally build and manage real estate for governments throughout North America.  Many of the people we were hiring came from that Department and one of my many challenges as the company's "start-up" Human Resources Manager was to help create a culture which replicated a private company, rather than a government department.

There were about a dozen of us on the payroll in June of 1977.  We were to grow to 1,213 people and come into full operation just 10 months later -- but that is the subject of many other stories.  The first of our five Vice Presidents was John Davies who would be the only one to join us from the Government of British Columbia.  John had hired a young secretary, Shelley Weston, who had little experience, but all of it within the conservative, formal and somewhat stuffy government environment.

On the number of occasions that I passed Shelley or had something to talk with her about, she would always call me "Mr. Kemp."  I had gently corrected her each time, teller her to call me Al, all to no avail.  It was always, "John is out right now, Mr. Kemp," or "Thank you, Mr. Kemp."

One morning as I passed her desk, I said, "good morning, Shelley."  The predictable, "Good morning, Mr. Kemp," came back from her.  I stopped short, turned on my heel, pointed my finger at her and in as stern a tone as I could muster, said, "If you call me Mr. Kemp one more time, I'll have John fire you!"  Before she could react, I grinned from ear to ear, turned and walked away.

Shelley always called me Al from that day on and was an important ally in helping introduce an environment, which to this day, is known in part for its informality.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY

1. Armstrong International believes in using first names.
   Only when customers are present should we use last names to show respect to Armstrong's management.  I take it back.  We should use our fisrt names -- that's who and what we are.  Always use the last name for our visitors unless they prefer using their first names.  They are not part of Armstrong's culture; they may not understand.

2. Corporate culture is exceedingly important to a company's success --
   but it doesn't just happen!  Executives set, shape and change coprate culture.  And they do it -- knowingly or unknowingly -- in the countless behaviours thaty they exhibit every minute of every day.

3. Effective communications comes in part from our informal environment;  "Al and Shelley" conversing is guaranteed to be more effective than "Mr. Kemp talking to Ms. Wilson."

4. Once you've used someone's first name....it's easier to become friends and work well together.

©2002 Chief Storytelling Officer